"Cut the crap, you damn idiots!!!"

A young man sitting in front of his monitor slammed his desk in a fit of rage.

On the screen was a blonde girl lying in a pool of blood and a boy looking down at her. The sword in the boy's hand was stained crimson.

"D-did we beat her?"

"I don’t know, Arthur. Stay on guard."

"Got it."

The boy named Arthur and his companions remained cautious.

But no matter how long they waited, the blonde girl didn’t get up. Eventually, one of their party members—a girl in priestly robes—timidly approached the bloodied girl and peered at her face.

"She’s... already gone."

"Then that means—"

"Yes. We’ve saved the world from the curse of the evil god Níðhöggr!"

The moment those words appeared in the message window, every character on the screen erupted with emotion. They shouted in joy, some lost in sentimentality—everyone looked satisfied, having overcome their hardships.

Even though the girl’s corpse lay right there, almost no one mourned her. The only exception was a girl with features similar to the blonde, who remained silent with a complicated expression.

"Bullshit! How many times is this now?! You’re *happy* about someone dying right in front of you?! Huh?! You’re all murderers too, you know! Stop acting like goddamn heroes, you pieces of shit!"

Faced with this scene, the young man hurled curses like spitting venom.

But his anger was in vain. The screen transitioned into the ending credits, playing highlights of the adventure.

Finally, a group illustration of the characters appeared, and the story concluded with a happy ending.

[Arcadia Quest]

That was the game the young man had just cleared—a title so popular it had become a social phenomenon.

The one thing that couldn’t be left out when talking about this game was its *ultimate multiple-ending feature*.

From the early stages, *Arcadia Quest* was filled with countless events and flags, and depending on the player’s choices, the story branched into over 100 different routes.

With that sheer volume, most players would burn out before experiencing everything. But *Arcadia Quest* solved that problem with its captivating cast.

"Every character is the protagonist."

That’s how fans online described it—every character was meticulously crafted. Each had their own convictions, their own resolve to throw themselves into battle.

Naturally, there was no route where *everyone* could be saved. Some characters would clash over their beliefs and lose their lives.

And that was exactly why gamers thought:

"I want to see an IF story where my favorite character shines."

And the ultimate multiple-ending feature was there to fulfill that wish.

But there was *one* character who could never achieve a happy ending, no matter the route.

Crescentia von Arcadia.

As the final boss of *Arcadia Quest*, Crescentia would always meet a tragic end, no matter which of the 100+ routes the player took.

At one point, a group of dedicated fans scoured every possible branch online, but the results only confirmed the despair.

Crescentia was *impossible* to save.

"Gaaaaaahhh!!!"

The young man buried his face in his Crescentia body pillow (homemade) and sobbed uncontrollably. He was one of the few remaining warriors—a diehard who still refused to give up on the existence of a Crescentia salvation route.

"Why?! Why, damn it?! Why is Cres (short for Crescentia) the only one who can’t be saved?! The other characters have secret routes! We *could* save Iris!"

Tears streaming down his face, he input data into his phone. This attempt had failed, but it wasn’t meaningless. The very fact of its failure would lead to the next step.

He knew it would take time. Even if it cost him his whole life, even if he became the last one standing, he was determined to see it through.

"Alright, next time, I’ll skip the entrance exam event and lower Credo’s affinity..."

Most likely, he would fail again. But undeterred, he steeled his resolve and turned back to the monitor.

However, his body—having gone two full days without sleep—finally demanded rest, and before he knew it... he had lost consciousness.

⚪

(Huh... how far did I get?)

The moment he woke up, his body reflexively jolted upright, ready to dive back into *Arcadia Quest*.

His body moved first, then his brain kicked in. And then—

"...Huh?"

The sheer shock made his thoughts grind to a halt.

"Wait, wha—huh? Seriously?"

Meaningless questions spilled from his lips. And for good reason—when he woke up, he wasn’t in his familiar room but in an entirely unfamiliar one.

If it had at least looked like a modern Japanese room, it might’ve been fine. But there was nothing remotely Japanese about his surroundings.

The interior resembled a medieval European mansion. Since he was lying in a bed, this was probably a bedroom. Every piece of bedding exuded luxury, making the whole thing feel surreal.

"...A dream, then?"

*Isekai transmigration.* As a gamer well-versed in many works, the term crossed his mind, but he quickly dismissed it as impossible.

And so, he went back to sleep. If this *was* a dream, waking up again would fix it. That was his hope—

"...You’ve gotta be kidding me."

When he opened his eyes again, the same medieval European-style bedroom greeted him.

This time, he was fully plunged into the whirlpool of confusion. Panic and fear sent him leaping out of bed.

*Why, why, why, why?!*

Unable to comprehend what was happening, he could only tremble in terror. Afraid to stay still, he began frantically searching the room until he found a large standing mirror.

"...Huh?"

He froze in place, staring at his reflection.

"Why the hell am I *Norwin*?!"

The young man had become a mob character from *Arcadia Quest*.